In a press conference at The O2 Arena on 15 December 2016, Triple H, the chief operating officer and head of NXT for the American professional wrestling promotion WWE, revealed that there would be a 16-man tournament to crown the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.

[1] The tournament was held over a two-day period, 14 and 15 January 2017, at the Empress Ballroom in Blackpool, Lancashire, England and aired exclusively on the WWE Network.

The tournament featured wrestlers from WWE's upstart United Kingdom division.

[2][3] The tournament was won by Tyler Bate, thus becoming the inaugural WWE United Kingdom Champion.

[9] Following the second tournament, the WWE United Kingdom Championship became the top championship of the NXT UK brand and its show, NXT UK, a WWE Network show produced in the United Kingdom that premiered on 17 October 2018.